If you pick up a DC comic today, you’re seeing the DNA of Roy Thomas. Specifically, his work on Shazam The New Beginning. It’s kind of wild to think about how much weight this four-issue miniseries from 1987 still carries, especially since it was originally intended to just clean up the mess left by Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The 1980s were chaotic for DC. They had just folded the Fawcett Comics characters—the original Marvel Family—into the main Earth, but nobody really knew how to make a guy who shouts "Shazam!" fit next to a gritty, post-Miller Batman. Most people think the modern, slightly more cynical Billy Batson started with the New 52 or the Zachary Levi movies. Honestly? It started here.
The Day Billy Batson Changed Forever
Before this series, Billy Batson was basically a cardboard cutout of goodness. He was a 1940s radio reporter trapped in a kid’s body. Shazam The New Beginning changed the vibe. Roy Thomas and artist Tom Mandrake decided that if Billy was going to survive the eighties, he needed some actual trauma.
They killed his parents in a car crash. Not just a "they're gone" backstory, but a visceral, plot-driving tragedy that put Billy in the crosshairs of his uncle, Dr. Sivana. In the pre-Crisis world, Sivana was a goofy mad scientist from another planet or a different dimension. Here? He was Billy’s actual uncle by marriage. That shift turned a wacky superhero story into a domestic thriller. It made the stakes personal.
Dr. Sivana wasn't just trying to take over the world; he was trying to steal Billy's inheritance. It’s a grounded, almost Dickensian approach to a character who can fly and throw lightning. When Billy finally meets the Wizard in the Rock of Eternity, it doesn't feel like a whimsical gift. It feels like a desperate survival mechanism.
Why Dr. Sivana Became Terrifying
Mandrake’s art in Shazam The New Beginning is underrated. Sivana isn't a cartoon. He’s drawn with these sharp, predatory angles. He looks like someone you’d actually be afraid to be in a room with. By making him a blood relative, the series introduced a level of psychological horror that the franchise hadn't touched before.
📖 Related: Alfonso Cuarón: Why the Harry Potter 3 Director Changed the Wizarding World Forever
The conflict wasn't just "Good vs. Evil." It was "Vulnerable Orphan vs. Predatory Guardian." That is a much darker hook than anything Fawcett Comics ever put out in the Golden Age. You’ve got to appreciate the guts it took to take a property known for talking tigers and magic bunnies and turn it into a story about a kid trying to escape a legal guardian who wants him dead.
The Mechanics of the Magic
One thing that often gets lost in the shuffle is how Thomas handled the transformation. In the old days, Billy and Captain Marvel (as he was then known) were almost two separate people. They swapped places. In Shazam The New Beginning, the bridge between the child and the adult started to blur.
- Billy retains his personality.
- The Wisdom of Solomon isn't an autopilot; it's a nudge.
- The physical transformation is painful and loud.
- Lightning actually damages the environment.
This was the first time we really saw the "kid in a god's body" trope handled with a bit of realism. When Billy turns into the Captain, he’s still a scared kid. He makes mistakes. He’s overconfident. He doesn't know how to handle the raw power of Zeus. This specific characterization is exactly what Geoff Johns leaned into decades later, and it’s the primary engine of the current DCEU films.
The Controversy Among Purists
Not everyone loved it. If you talk to hardcore Captain Marvel fans—the ones who call him the "Big Red Cheese"—they often point to Shazam The New Beginning as the moment the light went out. They missed the whimsy. They missed the talking tiger, Tawky Tawny (who was noticeably absent or reimagined away from his dapper suit-wearing self).
But here’s the reality: the 1940s version of the character was dying. Sales were in the basement. DC needed to prove that Shazam could stand alongside the Justice League without looking like a relic from a parade. Roy Thomas, who is arguably the greatest comic book historian to ever write a script, knew he had to keep the core mythology while stripping away the camp.
👉 See also: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
He kept the acronym.
S - Wisdom of Solomon
H - Strength of Hercules
A - Stamina of Atlas
Z - Power of Zeus
A - Courage of Achilles
M - Speed of Mercury
But he framed these powers as a heavy burden. The Wizard wasn't a kindly grandfather; he was a stern, ancient entity who dumped the fate of the world on a pre-teen because he was running out of time. It’s a messy, stressful origin story.
Cultural Impact on Modern Media
If you watch the 2019 Shazam! movie, you can see the fingerprints of this miniseries everywhere. The foster home dynamic, the search for family, and the darker, more industrial look of the magic all stem from the tonal shift Thomas initiated.
Before this, the property was basically a fairy tale. After this, it became an urban fantasy.
The series also fixed the "Black Adam Problem." For a long time, Black Adam was a one-and-done villain from a single 1945 issue. Shazam The New Beginning helped pave the way for the idea that the Wizard’s previous champions were failures. It built the sense of history that makes the DC Universe feel lived-in.
✨ Don't miss: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer
How to Read It Today
Finding physical copies of these four issues can be a bit of a hunt in back-issue bins, but they are essential for anyone who wants to understand why the character changed. It's not a long read. You can finish the whole thing in an hour.
What you'll find is a story that moves fast. The pacing is breathless. One minute Billy is at a car crash, the next he’s in a cave, and five minutes later he’s fighting a giant robot. It captures that frantic, "life is changing too fast" energy that defines adolescence.
It’s also worth looking at the coloring. It’s got that classic 80s newsprint feel where the reds and yellows of the costume pop against the grimy greys of the city. It’s a visual metaphor for the character himself: a bright spot of hope in a world that’s increasingly cynical.
Actionable Insights for Collectors and Fans
If you're looking to dive into this era of DC history, start by comparing Shazam The New Beginning with the Power of Shazam graphic novel by Jerry Ordway that came out a few years later. You'll see two different attempts to solve the same problem. Thomas went for grit and family drama; Ordway went for nostalgia and cinematic scale.
For those hunting for these issues:
- Check for the "Direct Market" vs "Newsprint" editions; the newsprint copies are notoriously fragile due to the dark ink used in Mandrake’s shadows.
- Look for Issue #4, which features the most iconic showdown between Billy and Sivana in this continuity.
- Pay attention to the letters columns in the back—they offer a fascinating window into how fans at the time reacted to their favorite "wholesome" hero getting a dark makeover.
The legacy of this series is complicated, but its importance is undeniable. It taught DC that Billy Batson works best when his magic is a contrast to a difficult life, not just a getaway from a perfect one.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
Search your local comic shop for the 1987 four-issue run rather than waiting for a modern trade paperback, as it hasn't been kept in print as consistently as other "Post-Crisis" origins like Batman: Year One. Read it specifically to observe Tom Mandrake's horror-influenced linework, which redefined the visual language of the Rock of Eternity for the modern era. Compare the parentage reveal in issue #1 to the 2011 reboot to see how the "lost parents" trope has evolved from accidental death to intentional abandonment.